Nato vows to keep up Libya mission
2011-10-18 20:48
Brussels - Nato is not ready to call an end to its mission over Libya even though new regime forces have made big strides in the last two towns held by Muammar Gaddafi loyalists, the alliance said Tuesday.
Colonel Roland Lavoie, the operation's military spokesman, said most of Sirte was now under control of the National Transitional Council (NTC) while the "few remaining Kadhafi fighters are desperately trying to hold their position".
While fierce fighting erupted in Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte on Tuesday, the NTC has declared victory in the desert oasis of Bani Walid.
In Sirte, close combat is limited to "a few blocks, a few buildings", Lavoie said.
"Despite isolated fighting in Sirte and in Bani Walid, most of the local population in these areas is not under threat anymore," he told reporters via videolink from the operation's headquarters in Naples, Italy.
"Remaining Kadhafi fighters are on the defensive, apparently attempting to avoid capture. They don't control significant populated areas and no longer pose a credible threat outside small pockets of resistance," he said.
NATO has drastically reduced the number of strike missions in recent days as fighting on the ground has moved to urban warfare, deterring alliance planes from dropping bombs to avoid harming civilians.
Warplanes, however, will continue to monitor Libya 24 hours per day and strike whenever necessary, he said.
NATO ambassadors are holding a regular meeting on the operation on Wednesday, but alliance spokesperson Carmen Romero said she did not expect them to terminate the mission.
"It is premature to set a timetable now," she said. "We are very close to the end, but there are still threats to the civilian population."